The National Security’s Ministry’s audits of the Hoop of Life, Citizens Security and National Mentorship programmes may begin by March 1, National Security Minister Gary Griffith said yesterday.
He did so in the Senate while replying to questions from People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Senator Camille Robinson-Regis.
Following the Life Sport audit by the Finance Ministry and ensuing debacle and termination of that programme Griffith announced last year that he would also audit the Hoop of Life and other social programmes under his ministry
Yesterday, he said the ministry was preparing to tender for independent service providers to conduct project audits on the three programmes. He said he hoped audits would start by March 1.
Included in the brief is a request for the auditors to determine whether the programmes are achieving the objectives set out in their programme designs and whether the projects in their current form are the most efficient in meeting Government’s stated crime reduction initiatives in the communities.
PNM Senator Faris Al-Rawi subsequently asked Griffith, more than five times, whether any government division was probing the Life Sport programme apart from the police.
Each time Griffith said that the police were doing so with a view to questionable action and to see if the Life Sport situation warranted laying of charges.
He said it would be inappropriate for another division or his ministry to probe the now defunct programme while the police, the legitimate entity to investigate the matter, was doing so.
Griffith said if the ministry had probed Life Sport, the Opposition PNM would have accused the Government of bias in the issue, so it was in the best interest of transparency that the police were doing the probe.